Bulldogs take down Bearcats, 84-65, for Holiday Hoopsgiving win

ATLANTA, Ga. – Junior guard Blue Cain posted a career-high 22 points as Georgia (9-1) defeated Cincinnati (6-4) on Saturday, 84-65, at State Farm Arena for Holiday Hoopsgiving.

FAST FACTS
• The Bulldogs are now tied 2-2 in the all-time series between the schools.
• Blue Cain’s 22 points marks a career-high in scoring for the junior guard.
• Alongside Cain’s double-digit performance, Jeremiah Wilkinson added 17 points, Somto Cyril posted 13 points – matching his career best – and Smurf Millender scored 10 points in the win.
• The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead with 16:13 remaining in the second half and held on through the end of the contest. On the season, Georgia is now 1-1 in games when trailing or tied at halftime and today overcome its largest deficit (11 points) in a game this year.
• The 19-point win is the largest neutral site win since defeating Georgia Southern 94-73 (21 points) on November 21, 2001.
• The Bulldogs outmatched the Bearcats in rebounds (41-37), assists (18-17), bench points (23-22) and blocks (6-3).
• Georgia continued to utilize its deep rotation with 11 players seeing action in the win.

KEY QUOTES

Georgia Head Coach Mike White

On the performance…
“The game was a lot closer than the final score indicated. We got a couple of stops and scored in transition a little bit. Got downhill and got to the foul line. Once it got in double-digits, it stayed right there at about nine to 12 for probably five minutes. I thought our zone attack was really good. Their defense, they’re phenomenal. I think they were eighth in the country coming into today’s game defensively. Our zone attack was a part of that, but down the stretch it was mostly our press attack and the attack versus some of their half-court trapping. I just thought we executed pretty well. Passed pretty well. Had five turnovers in the second half. Playing with that lead of 10 in the first half, not a very good sign there at halftime. Fixed it and played well offensively down the stretch.”

On adjustments coming out of the halftime break…
“Watching the film, our attention to detail with their shooters was not where it needed to be. Our blocking out was not where it needed to be. Long rebounds. We had some live ball turnovers that were a little bit uncharacteristic. We’re trying to get out of forced tempos and through the battle of tempos really. Although they play fast offensively, they’ve done a really good job of making people play the late clock defensively with their size and their discipline. They’re elite defensively. They really are. Again, the final score is not indicative. Playing with that lead late, I thought we did a really good job staying spaced, sharing it, facing up versus pressure, advancing it, and finishing.”

On the three-point shooting…
“Every day. Let’s make all of them. Sometimes when you’re playing against high-level defenses, that’s what happens. I liked our looks today. Had a two-point pull-up mid-first half that was an ‘F-shot’ for us, the way we categorized them. We took a couple ‘C’s,’ but we also had a bunch of ‘A’s,’ and some of those are going to go down. It gives you an opportunity. We didn’t turn it over. We get a chance to chase it on the glass. We’re pretty good on the offensive glass. We’re improving in that category. I want our guys playing with confidence and playing downhill.”

Up Next: The Bulldogs return home to Stegeman Coliseum to host Western Carolina on Thursday, December 18. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. For more information on tickets, visit https://gado.gs/dvq.